Snap, the company behind Snapchat, explained the feature is opt-in only with users able to remain in ‘ghost mode’.

The new Snap Map has been catching people out (Picture: Snapchat/Instagram)

But there is a credible concern that a picture can be built up of a child’s whereabouts throughout the day.

Their home address, school, venues they may attend for after school clubs, the childminder’s home could all be revealed whenever the child accesses Snapchat.

Along with other information shared through other social media channels, it could cause safeguarding issues for some children and teenagers.

How to switch off your location on Snap Map

You can switch off your location by accessing Snap Map by pinching the screen while in photo capturing mode, and then pressing the settings option and tapping Ghost Mode.

There are two separate ways of sharing your location on Snap Maps.

The first is ‘My Story’, which can only be seen by friends, and the second is ‘Our Story’, which is shared to the public but is anonymous.

But that’s only if parents haven’t got a grasp of what their child is doing online.

We wouldn’t allow our children to shout out their most personal details to random strangers on the street and the same should apply online too.

Snap Map appeals to children as it features a kid-friendly cartoon avatar they can design, known as a Bitmoji, and children’s fomo (fear of missing out) means they may switch it on to see where their friends are.

Snapchat is also very popular with youngsters mainly because of the fun face filters, voice change technology and they love a selfie (I know this after having to delete 1,000 pictures of my daughter’s nostrils off my iPad this morning).

Advertisement

Advertisement

But it is our responsibility as parents to make sure they are using it responsibly, that they are aware of the risks.

It’s no good saying your child knows more about technology than you, there are several important reasons why mums and dads also need to be savvy.

Children need to know how to use social media responsibly whether that is in relation to their or their friends’ safety, cyber bullying, phishing scams or sexting.

It is also no good blaming the tech companies behind these apps when things go wrong.

Yes, Snap, the company behind Snapchat, should have announced the new feature ahead of its release on June 21 as now parents are playing catch up.

Snap Map shows you where your friend says are in Real Time (Picture Credit: Snapchat)

Parents, though, need to understand how the apps their children use work and how to operate privacy settings on all the different social media channels.

A good start is making sure their location services are switched off, school badges or road signs aren’t visible in the pictures they take and all accounts are set to private.

Children may always find a work around and generally it seems there is a new favourite app every week but it is risky to become complacent.

For years now, different apps have been accused of either opening children up to bullying, grooming or affecting their confidence so this latest controversy is nothing new.

However, it is up to mums and dads to set the ground rules which will keep their children safe online.

Snap's statement about Snap Map

‘The safety of our community is very important to us and we want to make sure that all Snapchatters, parents and educators have accurate information about how the Snap Map works.

‘We encourage all parents and teachers to visit our Safety Centre developed with safety experts to be better informed about Snapchat, and keep it safe and fun.

‘Snap also encourages users to visit our Privacy Centre to find details on what information Snapchat collects, and who has access to this information. This has been updated with information about Maps.’